India's women cricket team managed a stylish, spin-led annihilation of great rivals Pakistan in their Asia Cup 2026 group game, sending their neighbours back inside an embarrassing 55 in eight overs before clinching victory within 9 overs.
The defeat extended India's lead in one of the game's fiercest rivalries, confirmed their group's top spot and secured a semi-final place later this week, back at the same venue.
Fatima Sana won the toss and elected to bat; however, the decision would be disastrous. India's spinners Shree Charani and Prema Rawat tore through the Pakistanis from the middle order downwards, taking three wickets each (3 for 7 and 3 for 9) and shattering all hope from Pakistan. The order came apart in the middle, losing six wickets in 29 balls for only eight runs with Pakistan taking themselves to their lowest score in WT20Is-an astonishing 55.
Charani, the current number one WT20I bowler, led from the front enticing batsmen out of the creases drawing playing and missing for simple edges which gave the slip.
Rawat bowled with a unique, near-perpendicular action, not unsimilar to a leg-spinner's, and matched her spinner's wicket for wicket-giving Pakistan only nine runs per three wickets, as they ended with the score, the lowest ever achieved in women's WT20Is.
Though modest a chase that may have been, it did not go without the typical chase thrills. Fatima Sana removed the in-form Shafali Verma, who had scored 3000 T20i runs just prior, with an away swinging delivery, and Mandhana in the very next ball on a debatable leg before delivery on a second ball lbw and so in spite of not using the DRS (as it is not available in the tournament), we can still be questioning as to whether the leg-before decision was correct since even if Mandhana made her shot across and then the ball travelled fine, it would possibly not hit the stump.
Those two quick wickets made Pakistan's fans dream of a fightback, but it was fleeting. It was when an assured Deepti Sharma and Harmanpreet Kaur took the centre stage and made an uninterrupted 28 run stand off 28 balls, exchanging singles cautiously until they opened up in their shots on their terms.
Deepti scored a quick 12 not out off 14 balls, and captain Harmanpreet Kaur scored 18 not out off 18 balls, finishing India's chase off with seven wickets and 68 balls to spare with a delightful boundary.
In this game Harmanpreet Kaur made captaincy in 150th T20i. That's why this has made it a memorable moment for all the Indian cricket enthusiasts including for the male counterparts of the Indian contingent.
Well in this occasion Harmanpreet finished the game and provided a glorious victory for India by striking six over for down the ground.
There were some bowling skills from India as well to wrap up the game, with a spin attack that relies heavily on finger spin and wrist spin from Charan and Rawat to the same degree, it demonstrates the trend in women's Cricket today where spin has now emerged as the main bowling skill and not pace.
India's fielding was at par with its bowling, thus providing limitations to the scoring options that Pakistan's top order offered.
India remain unbeaten and qualify top from group A where their semi-final is on Thursday in Dubai; the dominance this provided, which saw the oldest rival dismissed for the record-lowest ever total of 73 and then chased down within nine overs, will undoubtedly be among the performances of the tournament.
The remainder of Pakistan's journey is more circuitous; already on the ropes, with all to do if they are to make the semi finals from their position within the group stage standings, their final tie againstHong Kong Chinathey must win and anything resemblingSaturday's batting meltdownwould consign them out.
